Boerland
"Take a community of Zundrbarians who fought against all sorts of strong foes, ranging from Gnolls to Troggs to Dragons and more when they were some of the greatest powers in the Eastern Kingdoms. Send them to an area even more dangerous than where they are coming from. Take these formidable people and train them for seven generations in constant warfare against savage men and ferocious beasts, in circumstances in which no weakling could survive; place them so that they acquire skill with weapons and in ram-riding, give them a land which is eminently suited to the tactics of the huntsman, the marksman, and the rider. Then finally, put a fine temper upon the military qualities by a pious religious fury and an ardent and consuming patriotism. Combine all these qualities and you have the modern day Boer. The product being one of the most rugged, virile, and unconquerable races ever seen upon the face of Azeroth." '' ''-''Prince Ghlafferge Sootbeard of Zundrbar in a speech announcing the Reclamation of Zundrboek Overview Zundrboek is a colony of Zundrbar located in the Arathi Highlands that has existed for five hundred years. The colony was first established by Sven Sootbeard when he took power in +1500 ZC (Zundrbarian Calendar). The colony was used as a means of continuing food production while avoiding the deadly plague that had ravaged Zundrbar. The name, "Zundrboek," in Hill Dwarvish, translates to Common as, "Stoic farming town." Zundrboek is not located in the mountains as Zundrbar is, although it is protected by a large amount of mountainous land, which separates it from the rest of Arathor. Zundrboek's inhabitants are known as the, "Voortrekkers," as in HIll Dwarvish this translates to, "Pioneers." The Voortrekkers are very nationalistic about remaining indepedent from the Kingdom of Stormgarde, and are willing to fight to the death for this independence. Many farmers came here to escape the busy life of Zundrbar, which at the time had a large population. Zundrboek was never allowed to expand very far, due to the lack of space behind the mountains. Zundrboek however, does have a small harbor, and is Zundrbar's connection to the sea. Zundrbar has often docked its trade ships in Menethil Harbour. The food shipments from Zundrboek would be sent over underneath the Thandol Span, and docked at Menethil, before being taken to Zundrbar. It was this isolation that allowed Zundrboek to remain a strong colony, because of the fact the Dark Irons were unable to assail the area. Zundrboek's trade routes were ravaged by the Dark Irons, especially in Dun Modr, an area where Hill Dwarven traders would stop for a rest during the shipments. Zundrboek currently has a population of four hundred denizens and is represented in Zundrbar under the Boergraf Clan, a distant relative of the Sootbeard Clan who changed their to reflect their loyalty to the common denizen. Boergraf in Hill Dwarvish translates as, "Farmer Count." The first lord of the Sootbeards- Jan Sotbeard, History ((WIP)) Zundrboek was founded in the year +1500 by Piet Sootbeard, who travelled with five hundred farmers from the Principality of Zundrbar. Piet Sootbeard's five hundred farmers became known as the "Voortrekkers," or "Pioneers" in the common tongue. Piet Sootbeard travelled with his wife- Beatrix Tillbraids, and their two daughters- Vivienne and and Johanna. The Voortrekkers marched northwards and eventually settled in a small area along the coast after creating boats and going along the coast of the modern-day Arathi Highlands. Piet and Beatrix had their first son in the Arathian colony of Zundrboek, by the name of Maximiliaan. Piet was the fifth cousin of Sven Sootbeard, and changed his name to "Boergraf," to show his commitment towards the Voortrekkers. The name, "Boergraf," translates into the common tongue as, "Farmer Count." Sven Sootbeard paid a royal visit to Zundrboek in +1503 to inspect the farming that went on. The changing of the name Sootbeard to Boergraf did not bother Sven at all. After visiting Zundrboek's trade route was secured via a small channel between the Wetlands and the Arathi Highlands, with the midpoint being Menethil Harbour, from which goods were transported up to Zundrbar in the highlands. By the year +1514, the population of Zundrboek had increased to seven hundred and fifty two denizens. Piet Boergraf's brother- Matthias Sootbeard, travelled to Zundrboek and changed his name to Boergraf. Matthias moved with twenty fishermen to Zundrboek, hailing across several clans. Matthias started the fishing industry in Zundrboek, that would become a major part of the Boeren Cuisine and the cuisine of Zundrbar. Matthias was Piet's elder brother however, and eventually became very weak, due to his age. By the year +1515, he could no longer work and was 300 years old. However, Piet placed Matthias as the Boeren representative in the Moots of Zundrbar. Matthias moved back to Zundrboek, and was replaced by his son- Karel Boergraf, as the head of the fishing industry. Karel's second cousin once removed- Floriaan Boergraf, served as a courier to Matthias, and carried personal messages between Piet and Matthias. Matthias passed away in +1522 after 8 years of service to Zundrboek. Matthias's son- Erwin Boergraf, was placed in the position of representative of Zundrboek. Erwin's younger brother- Gustaaf Boergraf, became a squire to Sven Sootbeard. By the same token, Sven's cousin- Norwin Sootbeard, was squired to Piet Boergraf. In the year of +1523, Karel drowned while on a fishing venture, and was succeeded by Floriaan. Piet and Beatrix would go on to have one more son- Andrij Boergraf, before Beatrix's death in +1525. Piet went on to lead Zundrboek until his death in +1537. At this time, Maximiliaan was supposed to be the ruler of Zundrboek, however he was not of age (of age in the Zundrbarian sense meaning above the age of 40). There was a proposal made by Sven Sootbeard to have Erwin Boergraf serve as the leader of Zundrboek until Maximiliaan grew of age, however Johanna objected, claiming that she as the eldest offspring of Piet Boergraf, would therefore be the rightful regent-lady. Johanna's claim was supported by Vivienne, as well as the closer relatives to the Boergrafs, including Olav Sootbeard, the uncle of Vivienne and Johanna, as well as Maarten Sootbeard- another cousin of Sven. Sven Sootbeard was not one for acting brashly in this situation, and allowed Johanna Boergraf to become Countess of Zundrboek until Maximiliaan come of age, however Erwin felt cheated of his position as regent-lord. Erwin was quoted to have stormed out of the court of Prince Sven and travelled to Zundrboek with a series of warriors bent on securing his title as regent-lord. His ships were intercepted by the forces loyal to Johanna, which constituted the majority of denizens in Zundrboek, and he was captured along with his men. Sven travelled to Zundrboek with a royal entourage and had Erwin and his co-conspirators executed for high treason. Johanna remained a good ally to Sven until Maximiliaan came of age. Johanna married Larg Sootbeard's son- Tjerk Sootbeard, and together the two lived a happy life together. Johanna was a councillor to Maximiliaan in the royal court of Zundrboek, and remained a happy advisor to Maximiliaan until her death in +1554. Maximiliaan was crowned Count of Zundrboek in the year of +1541. Vivienne married Lodewijk Sootbeard, one of the few remaining individuals from the Line of Bjarn. Lodewijk had travelled to Zundrboek in +1532 as a farmer, as he respected Sven's claim to the throne, which was centered around himself being too young to rule. Maximiliaan married the niece of Sven Sootbeard- Natalie in +1557. By the year he was married, Zundrboek's population had reached seven hundred and seventy six denizens, which was growing too large for the small area to contain. Many farmers began pushing into the mountains to search for more farmland. Many of these expeditions went missing under unexplained circumstances. Finally, Maximiliaan ventured out with Mountaineers from Zundrbar and founded the settlement of Natalia, for which he named after his bride. Natalia was a very prosperous town in the mountains, and its main usage was for farmland. However, further exploration ventures led by Maximiliaan's distant relative- Jan Boergraf, revealed a civilization on the other side of the mountainous lands- a civlization of Trolls from the Witherbark Tribe. Jan sent forth a group of twenty traders under the leadership of his son- Volkert Boergraf. Volkert attempted to trade with the Witherbark civilization, but he and his traders were killed upon approaching the gates in the year +1558. So began the First Boer-Troll War (+1558 to +1560). Volkert's death caused anger among Jan, who requested that Maximiliaan reinforce the settlement of Natalia, which came under attack by the native Witherbark Trolls. Maximiliaan sent forth his eldest son and general of the Mountaineers of Zundrboek, Andries Boergraf. Andries repelled the attacks made on Natalia via the utilization of advanced firepower against the largely primitive Troll weaponry. Andries was able to push back the Witherbark Trolls from the mountainous areas of the two year conflict. Andries' five hundred Voortrekkersoldaat were able to hold the mountains, and the total casualty count from the war was thirty dead Voortrekkersoldaat of the total enlisted one hundred Voortrekkersoldaat. After the First Boer-Troll War, Andries proposed a plan to his father Maximiliaan four years later in the year +1564, for an additional war. Maximliaan denied Andries permission to begin a new war, under orders from Sven Sootbeard to halt the fighting. Andries agreed reluctantly, however he did not stop in his endeavours with the Witherbark Trolls. He divided their territory into numerous "sectors." The closest province region was "Natal" and was led by the Troll Warlord Zuluthar. Zuluthar was a subject of King Dinganath of the Witherbark Troll Civilization. The other created provinces were: Zulukwar (named for its leader- Zulukwar), Ncomelaand (Around the body of water known as the "Ncome River"), Ndelalaand (Around an area known as "Ndela" named for its warrior-leader), Shakal-laand (Named for its leader- Warlord Shakal), and Senzangakonza (The oldest province of the region, named for Legendary King Senzangakonza). This organization of the regions was combined with Andries Boergraf doing spying missions into the climate of these regions and eventually, he wrote a book titled, "On the Witherbark Trolls of Arathor." Andries remained vigilant in the highlands, and was a very young military commander. He celebrated his sixtieth birthday in +1568. After mapping out the regions, Andries started training the mountaineers better, and eventually travelled to Zundrbar. Andries worked well with Valgrinn Ironbeard- the commander of the Mountaineer Corps of Zundrbar. Folgrin looked up to Andries Boergraf for his military leadership skills. Andries spent twenty years in Zundrbar as a fighter in the Mountaineer Corps of Zundrbar, who mainly fought off murlocs in short skirmishes or other smaller foes once the subject of wars. Andries returned to Zundrboek in +1590 after leaving in +1570. Andries' younger brother- Hendrik Boergraf, managed the Voortrekkersoldaat while Andries was away. Hendrik and Maximiliaan had largely agreed with one another and were good friends. Maximiliaan's first son with Natalia- Tjor Boergraf, had also seen Hendrik in a similar way to how Ghlafferge sees Folgrin Ironbeard. Zundrboek's war with the Witherbarks had trained Hendrik well, as he had served in battle. By the year +1600, the colonial empire of the Principality of Zundrbar was beginning to fall after the loss of the island of Zeeland. Zeeland's fall caused Sven Sootbeard to frown upon colonies, and across the next half decade, the remaining colonial holdings of Zundrbar fell one by one, until only Zundrboek remained. Maximiliaan went on to have three other children with Natalia- Halvard Boergraf in +1573, Frits Boergraf in +1587, and Geraldine Boergraf in +1594. In +1590, a nephew of Sven Sootbeard- Fritz Sootbeard, the name being short for "Friedrich Sootbeard," was sent to Zundrboek. Friedrich was a very intelligent individual in engineering, and aided in the expansion of the mountainous strongholds of Zundrboek. Fritz aided in the construction of dams along Zundrboek's coastline. Fritz's first project was the "Südseedam," or in the Boeren dialect of Hill Dwarvish, "Zuiderzeedijk." The Zuiderzeedijk was along the "Zuiderzee", "Südsee," or "Southsea," area- the channel of water that divided Arathor and the Wetlands. The Zuiderzeedijk was constructed by Fritz. Fritz had several plans for the creation of more dams in Zundrboek, including the Oosterzeedijk or Ostseedam. However, Fritz was struck by a stroke, and was unable to work. He became a royal guest of the Count, and his son- Günther, was moved from his line's house in Zundrbar to Zundrboek to work on the dams along the water borders. This era of Zundrboek's history was known as the "Engineering Time" and spans the interval between the First Witherbark-Boer War and the Second Witherbark-Boer War. Günther changed his last name to Boergraf with the royal permission of Maximiliaan. Halvard Boergraf, the second-oldest son of Maximiliaan, studied under Günther Boergraf. Friedrich Boergraf died in +1621 in the Royal Court of Count Maximliaan. Maximiliaan Boergraf was deeply saddened at the loss, as was Günther Boergraf. Günther continued to work on the Oosterzeedijk, and in +1623 married Brigitta Jansen. Brigitta Jansen was a farmer from Zundrboek, however the clan of Jansens originally hailed from Zundrbar, and had recently travelled over to Zundrbar in +1572. The Jansens owned a small farm by the name of Kaldakinn. Günther had one child, a son by the name of Roland Boergraf. Brigitta was the youngest of seven children, and thus she refused to have her son as a farmer. Roland Boergraf ventured back to Zundrbar from Zundrboek, and started the Prince's Academy of Chemistry (Hill Dwarvish: Prenzakademie voen Chemie). Roland Boergraf left Zundrbar in +1664 and returned in +1675. Maximiliaan passed away as Count of Zundrbar in +1676, and was succeeded by his eldest son- Andries. When Andries was crowned as Count of Zundrboek, there was a Witherbark attack on the farm of Bjallabrekka- a farm owned by the Westhuizen Clan. Andries led forth the Voortrekkersoldaat in this new conflict, that would become the Second Witherbark-Boer War. The troll attackers murdered the Boers working at Bjallabrekka and stole the food they had produced. In recompense, Andries Boergraf led forth an army of forty Boers and retook Bjallabrekka, leaving no survivors among the ranks of the Witherbark invaders. The attack on Bjallabrekka by the Witherbarks lasted less than a half an hour. The retaking of Bjallabrekka took two days. One day was spent preparing supplies and trekking, the other day was spent in battle. After the attack on Bjallabrekka was cleared, the Boers began to advance into the territory of the Witherbark Trolls in an attempt to halt their advances. Andries Boergraf had a plan to attack the Witherbark Troll settlements in the mountains to cripple the Witherbark advances into the territory of Zundrbar. Andries's forces had sustained ten dead and four wounded in the retaking of Bjallabrekka. Thus, Andries' arm was down to twenty six soldiers, so he requested more from those who were defending Zundrboek. In the time between the retaking of Bjallabrekka and the new advances into the Witherbark held mountains, Andries met with Sven and requested two hundred mountaineers and Jagdkorps be sent to Zundrboek to aid against the Witherbark threat. Sven knew the importance of Zundrboek to Zundrbar, with its large amount of agriculture. Sven immediately agreed, and sent his brother Largs Sootbeard to lead the army, accompanied by Sven's eldest son- Rorek Sootbeard. The time period between Andries Boergraf's retaking of Bjallabrekka and his advance into the mountains was two and a half weeks. He began marching with an army of four hundred and seventy six soldiers. The first settlement to be attacked in the mountains was known as, "Bergstad," or "Mountain-City." The settlement of Bergstad was home to a populace of around fifty Witherbark Trolls. Bergstad was the first settlement to be conquered by Andries Boergraf, who after conquering Bergstad, exiled the Witherbark inhabitants. After this battle, a time known as the Oorlog-Tyd began. The Oorlog-Tyd was the time during the Witherbark Trolls were pushed back against the advance of the Boers into their soil. Andries Boergraf was known to have never lost a battle, but his men did enter many stalemates. The Oorlog Tyd lasted for around six months, and involved the seizure of land in the mountains en masse. By the end of the Oorlog Tyd, nearly all of the Trolls had been pushed out of the mountains and into the lowland region surrounding the highlands. Quotes about Zundrboek ''The Lordaeronians fight for a free world, the Azerothians mostly for glory and medals, the Gilneans decide too late that they have to participate, the Alteraci are too scared to fight, the Arathians have no choice. The Zundrbarians fight for the Fatherland. The Boers? Those sons of bitches fight for the hell of it. ''Give me twenty divisions of Azerothians and I will breach Kalimdor. Give me 15 consisting of Arathians, and I will advance to the borders of Orgrimmar. Give me two divisions of those marvellous fighting Boers and I will remove Durotar from the face of the Earth. '' Exports Zundrboek's original purpose was to provide grain to Zundrbar. Zundrboek's isolation allowed it to build up large amounts of excess food, which it stored in case of another time would require. Many traders from Zundrboek delivered the grain across Arathor for gold, which was done to make sure that their settlement stayed alive. For more than two hundred years, the Voortrekkers believed that they were the last Hill Dwarves, and believed that Zundrbar had been destroyed by the Dark Irons. Importance Zundrboek's importance is key to the growth of Zundrbar. After the great earthquake, a large farm was created in Zundrbar, although many of the citizens starved. Now, with many outsiders being welcomed to Zundrbar, a larger food supply is required. This food supply is powered by the production in Zundrboek, and by the large farm in Zundrbar. Although without the farm in Zundrboek, Zundrbar would be unsustainable and would most likely starve. Rulers Piet Boergraf (+1500 to +1537)-Count Johanna Boergraf (+1537 to +1541)- Countess Maximiliaan Boergraf (+1547 to +1676)- Count Andries Boergraf (+1676 to +1803)- Count Krugar Boergraf (+1803 to +2000)- Count Rundon Boergraf (+2000 to Present)- Count Category:Realms of Ironforge Category:Zundrbar Category:Arathi Highlands Locations